Getting Bumped up!

[tired-flyboy]

Hi guys - sorry if this ain't the correct forum
I'm trying to get some info on upgrading seats on my up and coming honeymoon.
Do you think it is best to pay (the ridiculously high price) to upgrade when booking, or can you wing it at the desk when you check in??
I'd love to pay but she who must be obeyed might have somethin to say about the extra £500 one way upgrade.
How would the check in staff respond to a 'Any chance of being upgraded - we're on our honeymoon??' type question.
Many thanks
TFB

[manintheback]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

There were a whole load of threads on this, but seems they may have been pensioned off. The answer came down to, if you want an upgrade, you gotta pay. Of course you can always ask, and they will smile politely and refuse. Freebies are given out when classes are overbooked and there is a pecking order - higher ranked frequent fliers on their own first and so on down the list.

Virgin Airlines once said if they upgraded every honeymoon couple their planes would nose dive into the sea.

[bealine]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

The other thing that can be worth trying nowadays (on long-haul trips) is asking the cabin crew how much an on-board upgrade would cost.

In BA's case, pax who want to buy an upgrade at the Ticket Desk invariably find they have to buy a whole new ticket (particularly if your tickets are part of a "tour operator's package").

The crew are empowered to see "on board upgrades" at a flat charge - providing, of course, that there are seats available in the higher cabin!!!

I believe many other airlines have the same "on board" upgrade procedures in place.

However, I do tend to agree with "her indoors" - would the upgrade fee not be better placed in upgrading your accommodation (which you've got for the duration of your stay and not just the few hours in the air) or towards the deposit on your first house!!!

Congratulations, by the way, on your forthcoming union!!!

[foxile]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

As has been said many times before, the only certain way to get an upgrade is to pay for it.

However, sometimes, just sometimes, you may be lucky. My new wife and I were upgraded on our honeymoon flight to Colombo when, as a naive youngster, I asked the purser if she had a bottle of Champers. After she asked us what the special occaision was she moved us forward after take off to what was a nearly empty business class section. The Champers complimentary. That really made our trip and the airline got a lot of loyalty from me afterwards

However, that was in the mid-eighties and things may have changed I think. 500 odd flights since and with one exception I have only ever got what I paid for...

Anyway, good luck to you and your prospective for the future

[Gouabafla]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Congratulations Mr Flyboy.

I'm pretty sure that you can find something better to do with the money. It's worth asking for an upgrade at the desk, but I wouldn't hold out any hope of getting one. Unless you are a Gold card holder with the airline, you are almost certainly too far down the pecking order to be considered. One tip on a previous thread said that you should always be early for check-in if you want an upgrade, while someone else said you should always be last to check-in.

Bottom line is that if you want an upgrade you almost certainly have to pay for it.

[White Hart]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Originally Posted by bealine

The crew are empowered to see "on board upgrades" at a flat charge - providing, of course, that there are seats available in the higher cabin!!!

jst a quick question for Bealine - presumably this is for a seat only, and not the relevant catering as well? With cost savings being such a big airline issue, I cannot believe that Airlines - even BA - will deliberately load extra catering in F or C just on the offchance that somebody will buy an on-board upgrade.

[chornedsnorkack]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Originally Posted by White Hart

jst a quick question for Bealine - presumably this is for a seat only, and not the relevant catering as well? With cost savings being such a big airline issue, I cannot believe that Airlines - even BA - will deliberately load extra catering in F or C just on the offchance that somebody will buy an on-board upgrade.

Do airlines regard it as "off chance" or do they rely on it? In the other words, is the airline happy to leave the catering behind and fly empty premium seats for free - or do they count on filling every premium seat left over after doors close with upgrades and charging a little money, or retiring outstanding Frequent Flyer liabilities?

As for honeymoon couples: is it something the airlines need to know beforehand in any case? I mean, the tickets are for names - if Mr. Foxile and Miss X buy tickets, how do they know not to turn back one Mrs. Foxile they have never heard of wanting to get in on Miss X´s ticket?

[bealine]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Hi white hart - Sorry, I should have said "if the seats and meals are available". It is still BA's policy not to seat pax in the J or F cabin unless the meals are available - even if they are willing to pay for the seat only!!!

[White Hart]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

bealine; thanks for that..

chorned.. presumably, it must be on the offchance, as by inference from the above reply, the only inflight upgrades available must be for F or C no-shows, where catering has been provided in expectation of the pax turning up as per the booking. I also know from my standby travels that I must waitlist for a particular flight in order for the catering to be arranged - no meal means no seat, even if the plane is half empty.

[Cyrano]

As for honeymoon couples: is it something the airlines need to know beforehand in any case? I mean, the tickets are for names - if Mr. Foxile and Miss X buy tickets, how do they know not to turn back one Mrs. Foxile they have never heard of wanting to get in on Miss X´s ticket?

So for this problem scenario to happen, Mr Foxile and Miss X have to buy tickets (in their unmarried names) sometime before the wedding, and then Miss X has to stop off at the Passport Office en route from church to airport to replace her Miss X passport with a new "Mrs Foxile" passport (which she needs a marriage cert to obtain).

[christep]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Airlines (the better ones at least) normally over cater in F. There will always be significantly more meals loaded than Pax expected (since there will be a choice of 3 or 4 main courses and in most cases they will load enough to be 90% certain that everyone will get their choice). So if you take an onboard upgrade you may just be asked last for your choice of food.

[PVGSLF]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Any ball park figures on how much an onboard upgrade is likely to be on a typical far east route?.. even just from economy to premium economy is good for a big lad like me....

It always irks me when i can see empty seats through the curtain and i'm squashed up with my knees under my chin... of course, at the time of booking its the cost that counts, but I do have a few hours of regret after take off when I would give anything for a bigger seat, especially if I've got someone unrelated next to me that I don't want to play footsie with as I stretch out, and the guy in front is threatening physical voilence becuase he can't recline his seat due to my knees wedged into it!

[Globaliser]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Originally Posted by PVGSLF

Any ball park figures on how much an onboard upgrade is likely to be on a typical far east route?.. even just from economy to premium economy is good for a big lad like me....

Off the top of my head, I believe it's in the region of £250-300 per sector for Y to W (on BA) - NB there are no catering issues for this upgrade as it's the same in both cabins.

And I think I read a recent report of £800 being asked for W to J.

It is also said that if you do this, you will get FF credit for the cabin upgraded to, although you have to keep the receipt that you received on board and claim the credit retrospectively as (obviously) the automatic systems at check-in and boarding won't know that you've done a revenue upgrade.

Many BA stations downroute will sell upgrades at check-in if the loads are suitable. The most frequent reports are Y to W for $200. Of course, if this is being offered because the flight is oversold in the back and not full in the front, you're gambling on whether you might get an invol upgrade anyway (and if anyone pays, that of course reduces your chances of an invol UG). My last experience was being offered W to J on a HKG-LHR for about £400, IIRC, because the flight was so oversold in the back. I declined, and ended up flying in J anyway.

[White Hart]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Originally Posted by christep

Airlines (the better ones at least) normally over cater in F. There will always be significantly more meals loaded than Pax expected (since there will be a choice of 3 or 4 main courses and in most cases they will load enough to be 90% certain that everyone will get their choice). .

Do you mean the Mid/far East carriers as opposed to Transatlantic ones? Or are you referring to those carriers who have a high uplift of F class paxs on certain routes?

I have travelled many times up front with the wife and kids, only to find that meal choices can be very restrictive in F, as overcatering was not the usual policy. I don't think it would be 'normal' policy to over-cater in F on every flight/route, purely on a financial basis if nothing else - unless you're guaranteed 100% loads up front every flight. Or maybe I've just not found the right carriers?

Also, there's the question of airline policy regarding upgrades. Some do it - some are expressly forbidden to do so, except under specific criteria. So, if you're going to try and blag a free upgrade, best check out the airline of your choice to see what the options are. Might save red faces all round at the check-in. I know it used to put my missus right on the spot when faced with such a request - she has said that it can actually be very embarrassing for the Check-in Agent to have to say 'no' in such circumstances.

[christep]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Yes I was thinking of carriers like Cathay or Singapore. On a number of occasions when times were less good for the airlines my g/f and I found ourselves the only people in an F cabin (e.g. HKG-NRT) and the flight was catered with the full choice of meals (I think 3 western choices of main plus the Japanese Kaiseki meal) for each of us. I have only once (in perhaps 50 sectors) seen CX have to ask someone to take their second choice in meal in F, and that was someone who was op-up'd.

On CX there's rarely any point in asking about unpgrades - they are normally determined in advance by "back office" people/systems based on Marco Polo club status and one or two other factors. But depending on how over-booked the flight is they can appear at anytime between 48 hours before (when doing online check-in) right up until the gate.

[striparella]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Virgin Airlines once said if they upgraded every honeymoon couple their planes would nose dive into the sea.

If i had a penny for everytime someone asked for a free upgrade i can tell you now i wouldn't be working for peanuts at an airport still!!

I would never, ever 'wing it' at the airport for a free upgrade. Especially if you come to me. The answer is NO.

Be a man and pay up.

[tired-flyboy]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Thanks for the replies.
Some of you are optimistic, others not so. What to do.........what to do..

Especially if you come to me. The answer is NO.
Be a man and pay up.

That's the problem - the cost is prohibitive.
Striparella - Does that mean that as check in staff you never - ever ask for upgrades? or if you do you always get refused?

[striparella]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Originally Posted by tired-flyboy

Thanks for the replies.
Some of you are optimistic, others not so. What to do.........what to do..
That's the problem - the cost is prohibitive.
Striparella - Does that mean that as check in staff you never - ever ask for upgrades? or if you do you always get refused?

It means as check-in staff i travel stand by so get what i'm given.

Virgin DO NOT op-up people just because they are on honeymoon. The company needs to protect it's product. If Y isn't full, why would we move people up when they haven't paid for it?

It's all about revenue in this day and age.

[Kremmen]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Originally Posted by striparella

If i had a penny for everytime someone asked for a free upgrade i can tell you now i wouldn't be working for peanuts at an airport still!!
I would never, ever 'wing it' at the airport for a free upgrade. Especially if you come to me. The answer is NO.

Ahh. And the airlines wonder why there's little loyalty. Striparella, remind me who you work for and where so I can avoid you at all costs. Jobsworths who don't understand how to engender support, loyalty and reward regular customers really don't belong in a service industry fighting for breathing space with all the competition.

[grimmrad]

Re: Getting Bumped up!

Originally Posted by bealine

Hi white hart - Sorry, I should have said "if the seats and meals are available". It is still BA's policy not to seat pax in the J or F cabin unless the meals are available - even if they are willing to pay for the seat only!!!

I was once on a BA flight from BOS to LHR when 3 hrs after take off or so (just after "dinner") an announcement was made looking for physicians on board. So I was contacting the Cabin Crew and was quickly one of 2 docs dealing with a comatous tween with no remarkable past medical history. It was pretty stressfull as we had no clue what this guy's problem was (though we had two or three rather unpleasant differentials in our mind) and had the plane land at Shannon as we wanted to get him off the plane and into a hospital asap. After that we (I and my co-travelling colleague -a biologist - who was happily sleeping throught the whole thing) were invited to come to the buisiness class (the other doc was already there and went to first). To make the connection to this thread (alt least somewhat) - they had meals for us. Very nice breakfast and drinks (Kudus to the crew of that flight btw). And this was certainly not planned, so do they carry spare once?

Best